Thursday, November 06, 2008

Textures

I’m a texture kind of a guy. I enjoy food that has texture. I enjoy touching things with interesting texture. I enjoy seeing things with texture and most of all I enjoy listening to music with texture.

Some of the most interesting textured music came from the Baroque period. When I listen to pieces by Bach I wonder about all the dimensions his mind was able to grasp and comprehend. It’s like listening to a Mandelbrot set with all the minimalist undertones that don’t stay in the sublime very long. It’s great music for those of us with short attention spans because as soon as we get one point of the tonality it moves on to the next.

Now if traditional recordings on traditional instruments leave you feeling a little old and cold you may want to listen to the texture enhanced versions such as the album from 1968, Switched on Bach by Walter Carlos (now Wendy Carlos). Wendy Carlos is/was a pioneer of electronic music. Her interpretations of Bach’s music sheds light on the textural possibilities that I’m sure would have amuse Bach himself as something he wanted to express but couldn’t with the limitations of the instruments in the Baroque era. Remember she also did the same for Beethoven on the soundtrack from A Clock Work Orange.

If you haven’t listened to Switched On Bach since the 60’s it is time to do so again. It will add a layer of wonder to your musical life again.

4 Comments:

Wow..... switched on bach. Haven't listened to that in ages. My friends used to make fun of me for listening to it when I was younger. Now I gotta find it again. If I hang out here much longer, I'm gonna need a bigger hard drive.